Galaxy products accredited with Samsung profit rise

Samsung has posted a 17 per cent rise in profit to £2.3 billion in the final quarter of 2011 thanks mainly to a 30 per cent rise in global smartphone shipments.

However the company’s yearly profit fell by 15 per cent throughout 2011 to £9.2 billion pounds.

The south Korean company said sales of its Galaxy SII (pictured) and its highbred tablet and smartphone device the Galaxy Note contributed heavily to its telecommunications division posting operating profits of £1.5 billion and total sales of £10.11 billion.

“Despite intensified competition amid the global economic slowdown, our telecommunications business continued to post solid earnings with an enhanced line-up of high-end smartphones, resulting in higher average selling price,” Samsung senior vice president and head of investor relations Robert Yi said.

Samsung, which has been the major challenger to iPhone manufacturer Apple’s dominance in the smartphone market said it expected demand for its mobile devices to increase in 2012.

Despite the strong performance of its mobile division Samsung still finished behind Apple in terms of global handset share according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.

It said Apple sold 37.04 million phone in the period, compared to Samsung’s 36.5 million and Nokia’s 19.6 million.

Earlier this week, Apple announced it had increased its profits to £8.35 billion in the last quarter of 2011 compared to £3.84 billion in the year ago period.